Seriously ill political prisoner Sıddık Güler (85) is to be released from prison shortly. According to his laeyers on Friday, a decision to this effect has been received at Iskenderun Prison in the southern Turkish province of Hatay. Güler had been imprisoned since 1994 and was serving a life sentence.
At the end of June, the Institute of Forensic Medicine (ATK) confirmed in a report that Güler was no longer able to live independently due to his age, health problems, and the large number of medications he required.
The Iskenderun public prosecutor’s office then asked the police in Amed (tr. Diyarbakır) whether the prisoner posed a danger to the public. The police station responsible in the Kayapınar district denied this on Friday morning.
Sıddık Güler, who comes from the Bismil district of Amed, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1994 by one of the notorious State Security Courts (DGM) in an arbitrary trial on charges of “destruction of the unity of the Turkish state.” While in prison, he developed heart and bone diseases and also suffers from rheumatism, Alzheimer’s disease, and mobility problems. He is confined to a wheelchair and has been classified as a “seriously ill prisoner” by the Human Rights Association (IHD) for years. Several attempts by his defense team to have Güler’s remaining sentence suspended on the grounds of unfitness for detention have failed in recent years. His release is expected in the coming hours.